Apparatus for facilitating the delivery of milk in bottles



Oct. 20, 1931. J. BROWN 1,823,125

APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE DELIVERY OF MILK IN BOTTLES Filed Jan. 29, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet l 0a; 20, 1931. J, BROWN 1,828,125

APPARATUS FOR FACILITAT ING THE DELIVERY OF MILK IN BOTTLES Filed Jan. 29, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 QM; AW Xmm Get. 20, 1931. 3, B OWN 1,828,125

APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE DELIVERY OF MILK IN BOTTLES Filed Jan. 29, 1931 4 SheetsSheet 3 lra (BMW M 0A Oct. 20', 1931; J. BROWN 1,828,125

APPARATUS FOR FACILITATING THE DELIVERY OF MILK IN BOTTLES Filed Jan. 29, 1931 4 Sheets-Sheet- 4 Patented Oct. 20, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

JOHN BROWN, OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, ASSIGNOR T SCOTTISH FARMERS OORPOR-A- TION LIMITED, OF GLASGOW, SCOTLAND, A,CORPORATION OF GREAT BRITAIN APPARATUS non FACILITATING THE DELIVERY or MILK IN BQTTLES Application filed January 29, 1931, Serial No. 511,962, and in Great Britain February 10, 1930.

This invention relates to apparatus for facilitating the delivery of milk in bottles of the type including a receiver for bottles arranged on the inner side of a door and cessible from the exterior of the door through an aperture in said door.

An apparatus constructed in accordance with the invention is illustrated diagrammatically in the drawings in which Fig. 1 is a part elevation, part vertical section, showing the apparatus holdmg empty bottles ready for removal; Fig. 2 is a part horizontal sect-ion substantially on the line 22 of 1; Fig. 8 is an elevation, part section, at right angles to Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a part plane, part section, the empty bottles having bcenae moved; Fig. 5 is a part plan, part section, showing closed a gate cont-rolling access to the bottles. i

The apparatus shown comprises a bottlereceiving cage 1 mounted on the inner side of a door 2 to perform oscillatory movements relatively to the door against gravity into a position (as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2) in which the bottles 3 lie horizontally opposite a letter delivery aperture 4 in the door 2 and under gravity into a position in whlch the bottles 3 are substantially vertical (as shown in chain-dotted lines in Fig. 1).

The cage 1 is pivoted at 5 to an inverted U-shaped frame 6 integral with a bar 7 presenting a down-turned tapering toe 8 (Fig. 1) detachably mounted in a socket 9 secured to the inner side of the door 2, whereby to sustain the cage 1.

1O denotes a letter-delivery plate secured to the outer side of the door 2 and presenting a passage-way 11 in register with the aperture 4 in the door. Hinged at 12 to one side of the plate 10 is a gate 18 normally closing the passage-way 11 and provided with a spring-urged latch 14 (Figs. 1 and 3) releasable to open the gate 18 by manipulation of a finger-piece 15 accessible through a letterdelivery aperture 16 in the gate 13, said aperture 16 beingmaslred, normally, by a hinged spring-controlled flap 17 Fitted to the top of the gate 13 is an interfering device comprising a spring-urged latch 18 carrying an inwardly projecting pin 19 which, when the gate 13 is closed, extends through a guide slot 20 in a bracket 21 secured tothe inner side of the door 2 above the aperture-4. Carried by the cage 1 is a springurged detent 22 adapted to co-operate with a catch 28 presented by the bracket 21 to maintain the cage 1 in horizontal position, as shown in full lines in Fig. 1. The detent 22 has a depending cam-member 24 engageable with the free end of the pin 19.

25, 26 denotes stops carried by the cage 1 and engageable with the frame 6 to limit the movement of the cage.

The cage 1 when charged with milk bottles 3, is in stable equilibrium about the pivots 5 when in the position shown in chain-dotted lines in Fig.1, which position the cage automatically takes up after delivery of the milk by the milkman. After removing the charged milk bottles from the cage 1, the recipient loads the cage with empty bottles and tilts the cage into horizontal position as shown in full lines in Fig. 1, in which position the detent 22 latchingly engages the catch 23. In the final movement of the cage towards horizontal position the cam-member 24 engages the pin 19 and effects retraction of the latch 18, as shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. On the subsequent milkdelivery the milkman raises the flap 17 and inserts a hand through the letter-delivery aperture 16,

releases the latch 14 by manipulation of the finger-piece 15, opens the gate 13 as shown in Fig. 4, removes the empty milk bottles 3 from the cage and re-loads the cage with charged milk bottles by way of the aperture 4. It will be understood that, in the opening movement of the gate 13 the pin 19 is disengaged from the cam-member 24 to free the latch 18. On closure of the gate 13 by the milkman after delivery of the milk supply, both of the latches 14, 18 engage the plate 10. In the final closing movement of the gate 13 the pin 19 abuts on the cam-member 24 and depresses said member clear of the catch 23, as shown in Fig. 5, whereupon the cage, together with the charged milk bottles, tilts automatically into the position shown in chain-dotted lines in Fig. 1 ready for removal of the milk by the recipient. It will be seen that, when the cage is in the chain-dotted position, the pin 19 of the latch 18 is freed from the cam-member 24 so that said latch is operative to prevent opening movement of the gate 13 until the cage is restored to horizontal position.

For restoring the cage 1 to horizontal oeition there is provided on the cage a hand e 27.

I claim Apparatus for facilitating the delivery of milk in bottles comprising, in combination, a door provided with a letter delivery aperture, a catch on said door, a bottle-receiving cage mounted on the inner side of said door to oscillate against gravity relatively to said door into a position in which bottles housed in said cage lie horizontally opposite said letter-delivery aperture and to oscillate under gravity into a position in which said bottles are substantially vertical, a letter-delivery plate located in register with said aperture and on the outer side of said door and provided with a passage-way permitting access to said cage when said cage is in horizontal position, a gate normally closing said passage-way and provided with a flap-controlled aperture insuificiently large for passage of a milk bottle, a manually-operable latch fitted to said gate so as to be accessible from the outside of said door through said aperture, and an interfering device comprising an automatically operated second latch carried by said gate, a spring-urged cam-member on said cage cooperating with said second latch and so arranged that, when said cage is in substantially vertical position, said second latch is operative to prevent opening movement of the said gate and, when said cage is in horizontal position, said second latch is retracted to permit opening of said gate, and a detent carried by said cam-member and engageable with said catch on said door, said second latch being retracted to permit opening of the gate by moven'ientof said cage to horizontal position and said detent being freed to permit gravity-tilting of said cage into substantially vertical position by closure of said gate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN BROVN. 

